Improvement in water-wheels



, occasion y "utriitctjijiw,

ToA all fwhomct may concern: i p `Be it known that I, WILLIAM GREENWELL, of Ripley,ii1 the county of `-B'rown t and State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvemeiitsin W'ater-ll'heels; and `I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

. and `enact dese; tion thereof, reference being had to` the annexed drawing making `part of tliisspeciiicatioii,

I iuwhich i p i n V `Figure 1 is a plan or top View of ni'y improved wheel, showing the liub or center,.thc upper `iiatrsurface of the buckets, and the rim or band 'which eneircles said buckets. A 4 'V1 y t i Figure 2 isa bottom view, showing tlicsaiiielparts, except that the lower Aends fthe `buckets are shown, instead ofthe upper ends, asin the other ligure'. t Figure 3 is avertical eleration, with a portion 'of the rim or baud broken away toi show the form of the pointatwhich the water strikes the bucket. p 1 Figure 4 isa sectional elevation of a poition of the' wheel, showing an fend View ofi one of the bucketsand the straight upper surface thereof, the wliolebciiig` upon a somewhatcnlarged scale; t y

Corresponding letters refer to corresponding parts in the several iigures.` i. i This invention relates to that type of water-wheels 'known as turbine' Wheels; andi aswill be more fully described hereinafter.

i In water-wheels of this type, as heretofore constrnctedfno adequate provision hasbeen ymade for relieving tliepoint 'uponwhicl'igtlie wheel rests from the weightof th'ebodyof thefwater whichacts upon such A wheel, the consequence of wbicli omission is,-that the weight which such point has to support is so vgreat as to cause a large amount of friction andr a rapid wearlling away of such point." A

he principal o ectof this invention is to provide ucketwhich,` lin consequence of its form, shall cause aportiou of the waterwhicb enters it to have a direct `upward tendency,` and lthus `release the downward pressure to a.' considerable cxtentfand, at the saine time, utilize a .greater percentage of thc power of the i waterl than has heretofore beeiij done.

7 my invention, I will proceed 'to describe its construc-` tion and operation. l

` A inthe drawingV refcrsto t ivhc'ch which. may-'be of vsolidforfit' may haveatsmall hub iii the center, iny which there shallizbe yanapeiture for the reception of the shaft, antlaimf electing 'om such hub to and connected with the n etioi rim, ouwli'cli the buckets arefastened." f'

A refers to the outer rimer band of thcwliccl, which is to be o i' suoli a `diameter as to leave a space buckets, and, in dotted lines, the `angle and about the` lt. consists in an improved `bu `:k`et for such wheels,

To enable those skilled in the art to makeand use he liub or center of tlie` wood or ofmct-al, and may be i WILLIAM LL, 2er RIPLEY, i.iiLiN-ois LLetterS--Pfl-teutllro. 104,579,17atcd Juno 2l, 1ST 0;

IMPROVEMENT rrr-WATER-WHEELS.

Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part. of the same 'between it andthe hub, or interior riui, equal Yto the length which it is desired to make the buckets. This riiii I `prcfei to make of metal, but it may be made of i wood, and hare hoops of iron placed upon it, in the `form maybe used, such parts forming no part of iiiy present invention. I Y

13 refer to `the buckets of a water-wheel, they forming `the suhject-ii'iatter of this invention.

{Ihe form of these buckets is clearly shown in the drawing, and it is substantially as follows:l

The lupper poi-tions,vv represented at I1,` are to'bc straight from the point of their commencement, which is about 'usli with the upper edge of the rim of the wheel, to the 'upper portion of the curve b,`as clearly `shown in fig. 4 ofthe drawing, 'at which point a short bend or curve is fornicd,.and tli'c lower poi'tioii ofthe bucket is extended downward and backward to a point "just beyond the curved portion of `the next succeeding i bucket.v

rlhe lower portion of the buckets may becurved, as shown in fig. 4, or it may have the straight forni and angular position shown in iig. 5.

r\ Vlia tcver forni is adopted lforthe lowci: portion of the bucket, it isimportant that the straight upper surface should be preserved, and tliat-.itsanglc or in, clination should be such that the water from the cliute Q which Ydirects it upon such bucket shall strike its lower portion vat about the point indicated in dotted lines in figs. 3 and 5, in order that a portion'thercofmaybe j l dcflectcdiupward.and iiiipiiige against the under sur faccof such upper portion, and thus cause an upward pressure, which shall, to a' great extent, countcrbal-fi ance thedownward pressure and the weight of the wheel.

as are usually provided.

I also contemplate to use upon the inside of the buckets straight or slightly-curved surfaces, as `shown in dotted lines iu fig-'1, in order that, as the water strikes the bncketand is deected in diiferent directions, those portions which pass out horizontally shall have a surface to react upon, which shall utilize the force. of sucligportions, as well as those portions whichv are deflected vertically, which is not yand cannot be done when thcwater impiiiges directly against the y router and inner rims ofthe wheel. p'

When the wheel is made of cast-iron, it may be made `in one piece, or the central portion may be oi' iioii, and j the buckets have Bauges upon their upper' and lower surfaces, as indicated in iig. 3, and be bolted or riveted to such hub or center, after which the rim may be slipped upon their outer surfaces, and bolted or riveted to them; or, the same form of construction may be ^adopted when the center vand outer portions are made of wood and the buckets of cast or wrought metal.

I am aware that a great variety of water-wheel buckets have been made havingcurved surfaces against which the Water from the chute has been caused to strike, and, also, that they have been made with curved surfaces against which the water has been made to impingc; but mine differs from all such, in that the upper portion of the bucket has a straight inner and outer surface, arranged at the same angle asthe chute' which conveys the water thereto7 as a consequence of which that portion thereof which is deflected upward is made to relieve the step upon which the wheel rests from a considerable portion of its load, and, at'the same time, the water is confined in a ppcket or recess until its reactive force has been utilized, al1 the surfaces against which it impinges being so arranged as to give the greatest effect to such force.

Having thus' described my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,'is- The within-described water-wheel bucket, its upper surface being straight from its upper or outer 'end to the point where it is curved downward5 substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WM. GREENWELL.

Witnesses: Y

EDM. F. BROWN, B. EDW. J ElLs. 

